Deodorizing compositions for use in ostomy pouches are known in the art as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,716 (Steer) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,939 (Maurer). They are especially beneficial when used with drainable pouches designed to be periodically emptied and cleaned for reuse. Such procedures subject ostomates and/or caregivers to malodors from the pouches' contents as fecal materials become exposed to air. The malodor problems which the deodorizing agents are intended to reduce are only exacerbated by the tendencies of fecal matter to stick or cling to the inner surfaces of ostomy pouches, thereby prolonging exposure to such malodors during emptying and cleaning procedure.
Apart from such odor problems, users have also encountered difficulties when opposite inside surfaces of pouches stick or block together and thereby obstruct the entry and downward movement of fecal matter discharged into the pouches. Also, feces sometimes cling to opposing pouch surfaces, resulting in a “pancaking” action that impedes downward travel of fecal material. It has long been known that users, in their efforts to reduce such blocking and sticking problems, have sometimes resorted to coating interior pouch surfaces, or at least surfaces opposite from the stoma openings, with anti-sticking agents such as those commonly found in the home. For example, it is recognized that a material widely marketed under the trademark “Pam” has been sprayed by users into ostomy pouches through the stoma-receiving openings thereof before such pouches are adhered to the skin. One disadvantage is that such oily anti-sticking agents are also capable of traveling to the heat seals at the edges of the pouches and become absorbed by the polymeric materials from which such pouches are formed, thereby weakening the heat seals and increasing the risk of possible rupture of the pouches in use.
Other approaches had been proposed for reducing the coefficient of surface friction and possible adhesion between the walls of ostomy pouches. Reference may be had to published International application WO 03/026540 (Andersen et al.) where a hydrophilic coating is adhesively applied to one or more interior surface portions at the time of pouch manufacture. One disadvantage is that such a hydrophilic coating requires substantial moisture to become hydrated and lubricious, so the beneficial effects may not be realized unless the waste material discharged into a pouch is sufficiently liquid to activate the hydrophilic coating material.
Other patents and published applications disclosing or suggesting various approaches for reducing frictional resistance to movement of waste material in ostomy pouches are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,546, 4,518,388, 5,001,009, and European Patents 0 991 701, and 0 272 816. While these references in one way or another address the issue of sticking, none is concerned with a material or procedure in which odor neutralizing also occurs simultaneously, or in which an aqueous composition has components that coact with each other to achieve and enhance both results.
A main aspect of this invention is to provide an ostomy pouch lubricating deodorant that takes the form of an aqueous solution of a water-soluble lubricating agent and a water-soluble complexing agent capable of complexing with and neutralizing the odor-causing molecules of fecal matter. Such a liquid lubricating deodorant is placed into a pouch, ordinarily a drainable pouch, by the user. If the ostomy appliance is a one-piece appliance (where the pouch is permanently connected to an adhesive faceplate), then the user of a fresh pouch may introduce the recommended amount of liquid lubricating deodorant into the pouch through its stoma-receiving opening prior to adhering the pouch to the skin. When the pouch thereafter needs draining and cleaning, a process that results in a loss of at least some of the liquid deodorizing/lubricating agent, the desired amount of such agent may be replenished by introducing it through the pouch's drainage opening. If the appliance is a two-piece appliance (where the pouch is detachable from the faceplate), the deodorizing lubricant may be introduced into the pouch either through the pouch's stoma-receiving opening or through its drainage opening if there is one.
In a particularly effective embodiment of the invention, the water-soluble complexing agent that acts to neutralize the odor-causing molecules of fecal matter is also a surfactant and, as a surfactant, coacts with the water-soluble lubricating agent to enhance the lubricating effectiveness of the latter. In addition, the liquid lubricating and deodorizing solution may contain other surfactants, humectants, hydrating agents, preservatives, and pH-adjusters or buffers.
Other features, advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description.